The game will be refereed by Ham Osmers (32) from Hanover. The financial controller has officiated in the top flight since last year and this will be his sixth Bundesliga fixture. Florian Heft and Thomas Gorniak are the assistants on the touchlines and the fourth official is Dr Robert Kampa.
Unbeaten against Augsburg to date
In the 13 competitive matches against FC Augsburg to date, the Werkself are unbeaten with eight wins and five draws. After seven wins for Bayer 04 from the first seven Bundesliga matches against FCA, the last four games have ended with the points shared. The record does not reflect favourably on Augsburg: FCA have the worst return against the Werkself compared with any other Bundesliga team with an average of 0.4 points per match.
Friday stats against FCA
The club from south-west Bavaria have fared better since the change of coaches in December. In that time, Augsburg have collected ten points from six matches under coach Manuel Baum – only VfL Wolfsburg and FC Bayern have picked up more points with 12 and 16 respectively over that period. The following stat does not go in favour of Baum and his team for the game on Friday night: Augsburg have not won any of the last eleven Friday matches, picking up just three points along the way. Of the teams who have played at least ten times in the Bundesliga on Fridays only FC Homburg (0.47) have a worse points average than FCA (0.53).
Werkself qualities
The Werkself hold two league records: On the one hand, Bayer 04 – alongside FC Augsburg – are the strongest comeback team in the Bundesliga this term. Both clubs have won 11 points from losing positions. That's the best in the league.
On the other hand, Karim Bellarabi boasts a record number of assists: In his last 13 Bundesliga fixtures he has provided 12 assists for his team-mates – in the period since March 2016 no other player has provided over ten assists. Behind Bellarabi are Julian Brandt and Yunus Malli of VfL Wolfsburg with nine assists each.
Reunion with Callsen-Bracker, Stafylidis and Kohr
Reunion with old friends: Jan-Ingwer Callsen-Bracker (1998 – 2008) plus Konstantinos Stafylidis (2013/14) and Dominik Kohr (2008 – 2014) all played for Leverkusen and made their debuts in the Bundesliga for the Werkself. Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Dominik Kohr revealed: "I still write to Bernd Leno from time to time." Hopefully, a congratulations message on WhatsApp will appear on Bernd Leno's mobile phone after the match.
Live broadcast at the Schwadbud
The Schwadbud again opens its doors on Friday night for fans unable to make the trip south. From 19.30 CET, Werkself supporters can meet up in the popular fan pub to watch the game and get behind the team – so be there if you can! Tables cannot be reserved so it is worth turning up in good time.
